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Nava Thakuria

The rising stature of women in a strife-torn State — success stories of the SHGs from Assam.

IN HAPPIER TIMES: Women in Assam are finding empowerment through SHGs. - Ritu Raj Konwar

Strife-torn Assam has many stories of hope to tell, thanks to an increasing number of women who are actively engaging or building self-help groups (SHGs).

Kamala Das, 30, from the remote Bhabanipur Mahtoli village in lower Assam's Barpeta district, is one of them. After her father's death three years ago, Kamala had taken on the responsibility of her five-member family, but had no regular income. And then a friend from a neighbouring village told her about the SHGs that had been formed there and how women in her village — many of them unmarried — were supplementing their family incomes.

Inspired, Kamala mobilised 12 women from her village to form the `Manas Self Help Group'. The group then approached the Pragjyotish Gaonlia Bank (now renamed Asom Grameen Vikash Bank; AGVB) in November 2001.

"Kamala and her friends were very positive and enthusiastic. So, we asked them to apply for a bank account because this was mandatory if they wanted to take advantage of government schemes," says Jayanta Das of the North East Development Organisation (NEDO), an NGO which helped the Barpeta women form SHGs.

The Manas SHG met every month and deposited Rs 20 per head. After collecting a certain corpus, the women took loans at rates up to 24 per cent interest from the corpus to set up small income-generating activities — from food processing to handlooms, cattle farms to piggeries — in their homes. "Initially, the women were hesitant to take loans since they had no previous experience in such transactions. But soon they began thinking of the loan as a way to earn an income," explains Das.

Kamala took a loan of Rs 1,000 to start a mini food-processing unit in her home. "The raw materials, mostly fruits, are available in our village. I can collect these materials at a low cost," she says. The fruits are processed to prepare fruit juice, pickles, jams and jellies, which are quite popular in the local market. Occasionally, her brother carries these products on a bicycle to sell them in a neighbouring village. Kamala earns Rs 1,000 on an average every month now. And the family enjoys the security of two simple rice meals every day.

Another impact of this initiative has been a change in the attitude of male members in their families. These men — most of them daily wage earners — recognise the women's contribution to the family income. Women now take an active part in planning and deciding on family issues, something unthinkable five years ago.

The Manas SHG is one of the thousands of successful SHGs formed under the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) since 1999 when it was launched by the Central Government to bring about a paradigm shift in development and create employment opportunities for the rural poor through SHGs linked to bank credit.

If the performance of the SHG is satisfactory, cash credit facilities of up to Rs 25,000 are provided. Recently, AGVB, after scrutinising Manas' accounts, sanctioned a loan of Rs 25,000. The women hope to repay the loan at the earliest, in order to avail a bigger loan amount.

Making an impact

According to a recent report from the Union Ministry of Rural Development, there are over 2.5 million SHGs in India. And the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (Nabard) has granted financial assistance of over Rs 800 crore to nationalised, regional and rural banks (including the Asom Grameen Vikash Bank) for providing credit to SHGs under the SGSY. Nabard's goal is to credit-link around one million SHGs by March 31, 2008.

An Assam Government advertisement reveals that there were over one lakh SHGs in Assam until December 2005. These SHGs involve about one million below-poverty-line families — accounting for around 16 per cent of the State's overall population.

According to the State Institute of Rural Development data, over 2,000 SHGs had been sanctioned loans amounting to about Rs 25 crore between 2002 and 2005.

No militant threats

Fortunately, although these SHGs are being promoted and funded by the Central Government, they have not faced any problems from the pro-independence outfits in the State. The SHG movement involves thousands of women and men, who have been sympathisers of the militant outfits.

This support has seen considerable erosion in the recent past due to the anti-people activities of these outfits, but the militant cadres do not dare put a ban on the SHG activities for fear of a popular uprising against them.

Says an upbeat Kamala, "In some years, men will specifically look for a bride associated with SHG activities, because she will be able to add to the family income."

Women's Feature Service

More Stories on : Gender | Rural Development

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